Pavlo Nakonechnyy

Pavlo Nakonechnyy (born 12 July 1997) is a Ukrainian professional strongman and powerlifter. He is best known for his prowess in deadlifting, having pulled 390 kg (860 lb) in powerlifting and 453.5kg (1,000 lb) in strongman standards.

Powerlifting
Nakonechnyy began competing at age 14. Rapidly growing in strength and size, Nakonechnyy won his first Global Powerlifting Federation (GPF) Junior World Championship at age 16. He went on to twice win the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World University Powerlifting Cup in 2016 and 2017. In 2019, Nakonechnyy won the open division of the World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) World Championships. While competing in powerlifting, his biggest rival was Great Britain's Luke Richardson.

Strongman
In 2018, Nakonechnyy won the Arnold Amateur Europe show, earning a place to compete in the Arnold Amateur World Championships. However, Nakonechnyy pulled both biceps during an attempt to deadlift 415kg (915 lbs), thus sidelining him from competing at the 2019 WPRF Open World Championships. He returned the following year to compete in the 2019 Giants Live World Open and World Deadlift Championships sharing 2nd place after deadlifting 453.5kg (1,000 lbs) and finishing 4th place overall.

During the 2023 Arnold Strongman Classic (ASC) in Columbus, Ohio, Nakonechnyy sustained a knee injury during the deadlift event. The extent of the injury caused Nakonechnyy to withdraw from the 2023 Europe's Strongest Man contest. He was replaced by Paul Smith representing the United Kingdom.

Personal life
When the War in Ukraine broke out, Nakonechnyy stepped away from powerlifting and strongman shows to serve his country as a volunteer, delivering humanitarian aid. He has since returned to competition.